Brand New Eyes
by MorrisGrad09
Summary: Everybody's got a theory about how they'll go about Beckett's mom's murder. And how the eventual hook-up between Castle/Beckett will go. This is my take on both. Epilogue is up for the second time - sorry! , and the story is complete. Thanks, guys!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Brand New Eyes  
Characters/Pairings: The whole team, yes, with some moments of Beckett/Castle goodness  
Rating: T (I guess, just to be safe for later stuff)  
Warnings: Some dark stuff and then some not so dark stuff (I am a fan of Caskett/Beckle, so expect moments of fluff.)  
Spoiler alert: Generally spoilers for S1 and S2. This is about three years after the conversation in the hospital at the end of S1.  
Summary: Everybody has their theory about how they'll be going about Beckett's mom's murder and how eventually Castle and Beckett will end up hooking up. This story was started from a dream I had the other night, so we'll see where it goes.  
Author's Notes: Don't own anything, just lots of student loan debt. Well, I do own a car, so I do own something! LOL. This is my first Castle fic and will be ongoing, so just bear with me! Oh, and with regards to the title, I know it's not exactly original, but it will have a point, later. Feel free to comment, critique….and most of all, enjoy!

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**Chapter 1**

_10:38 PM._

_10:51 PM._

Rick Castle was not a man to be rendered speechless easily, but, as he stared at the digital clock in his office, he could not speak. The pouring rain outside echoed on the windows of his office, the only light coming from the flickering screensaver of his laptop and a small lamp on his desk.

_11:11 PM._

"Still awake in here, kiddo?" Martha asked, fluttering into the office, still dressed in her clothes from the evening.

He looked up at her, not knowing where to begin.

Her expression turned serious, taking in his dull eyes and long frown. "What's going on? Did something happen to Alexis? Or Detective Beckett?" She asked, sitting down at the other side of the desk.

"Alexis is fine." He said in a hoarse voice. "I talked to Clark."

"Dr. Death? Is this about Detective Beckett's mother?" She asked.

"I have to go." He stood up and grabbed his coat. "If I'm not back, will you make sure Alexis gets off to school okay tomorrow?" He asked.

"Absolutely." She watched him leave the apartment in silence, wondering what Dr. Death could have told him to shake him up so much.

***

Castle rounded the corner of the second floor of the 12th Precinct, and, for a moment, was taken aback by the sight of Kate Beckett at her desk. The lone detective still at her desk, she kept herself busy by filling out the last of the paperwork from the case they closed today, soft music coming from her computer. Her smile at a particular song disarmed him a bit as she moved to turn the volume up a little, tapping her pen in time to the music. It wasn't often that he was able to see Kate from Detective Beckett, and normally, he would have enjoyed it. Not tonight, though. And probably not for some time forward.

He lost track of the moment when she looked up and saw him. "Castle?" She asked, the smile still on her face. "What are you doing here?" She moved to turn down the music as he sat himself in the chair next to her desk. "We got the right guy."

"It's not about that." He said, cursing himself for the way his voice broke.

She whipped her head around at the sound of his voice, the only time she had heard his voice like that it had been at the hospital after seeing Sorenson after he had been shot. _It's about your mother…_ She subconsciously shook off the chill that had gone down her spine at the thought. Three years later and that conversation still made her skin crawl.

"There was a murder tonight in White Plains."

Her hand stilled over the paper. "White Plains isn't in my jurisdiction, Castle." She said, hoping she had put enough edge in her voice to mask the quiver she felt in her stomach.

"I know. I got a call from that friend of mine that looked at your mother's case, and the victim had the same kind of wounds she and the others did. I had him send a copy of the report to Lanie and she's going over it as we speak." He had called the Medical Examiner from the cab.

She stared hard into Castle's blue eyes, her silence broken by Ryan, Esposito and Captain Montgomery. "Sir," she started.

"I've already gotten a call from the captain up there." He said. "He's expecting all of you."

Beckett jumped out of her chair and grabbed her trench coat and keys before Castle could blink. "Let's move." She said.

*****

The ride from the 12th to White Plains in the car that Beckett and Castle shared was quiet, up until the moment that Castle was sure the silence was doing to drive him insane. "You are not shouting at me very loudly." He said, gazing over at her.

She sighed, shifting to one hand on the wheel. "It's not you, Castle." She looked over at him. "It's really not. It's just," her gaze filtered back to the road, "this is the call I've been dreading." She said. "I've been asking myself if I'd ever be ready to go back to this, and I haven't been able to answer."

"Personal demons aside, I think you are ready, Beckett." He said softly. "It's been three years since I brought it up to you at the hospital. You're a lot different from the Detective I knew then." He said.

She looked back at him again, her green eyes holding his own. "I hope you're right." She flipped open her cell phone as the ringer went off. "Beckett." She answered. "Okay. We're just about there. Find out what you can and I'll see you then." She flipped the phone closed. "That was Lanie. She just arrived at the scene."

"She must have taken off right after I called her." He mused.

"We're almost there, too." She said.

He wanted to get her back on the conversation they had been on before Lanie had called, but saw that was pretty much an impossibility. Kate had disappeared and she had been replaced by Detective Beckett, all business and no time for personal matters.

*****

Upon arriving at the crime scene, Kate surveyed what was in front of her as Esposito and Ryan spoke to the detective from the White Plains police department and waited for Lanie to finish speaking to the local Medical Examiner. Castle stood next to her, and for once she was grateful for his presence.

"Kat Harper." Lanie said as she walked over to Beckett and Castle. "We can't place why she was in the alley, considering where she lived."

"Did you find an ID?" She asked.

Lanie nodded, handing her a wallet. "Upper East Side in Manhattan."

Kate realized the victim was her age, and then gasped at the address. "This is the same building my father lives in." She said, passing it to Castle. "What can you tell me about the body?" She asked her.

"Probably a lot of the same things you can already guess. The wallet is still full, and there's no sign of sexual assault. I'll run everything and I'll let you know what I find when I get her back to the lab."

"White Plains CSU is going to comb the alley." Esposito said as he and Ryan walked up to the trio. "Ryan and I are going to start canvassing and see if we can find anyone who saw anything." He told Beckett.

She nodded. "Let me know in the off chance you find something."

"Will do, boss." Ryan said as they headed towards the street.

"What's our next move?" Castle asked.

Beckett sighed, shaking off a yawn. "Coffee. Then we check out Kat Harper's apartment." She grabbed her keys and turn back to Lanie. "Thank you." She said.

"Let me know what you find." Lanie said.

She nodded, gesturing to Castle to follow. "I'm okay, Castle." She said in response to his unspoken question as they stood next to the vehicle. "At least for now."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As the pair looked through Kat Harper's apartment, Castle paused at her bookshelf. "Looks a lot like yours, actually." He said, cocking his head to the side. "Derrick Storm, and look! Nikki Heat." He said. "History, Art, Anthropology…."

"Needless of us to say, she had some varied interests." Beckett said, joining him.

"Do we know what she did? For a living?" He asked.

"Not sure. They're working on notifying next of kin to come down and identify the body." Beckett said, moving into the kitchen. "We'll know more about her then."

"If the desk is any indication, I'd say she was in publishing." Castle asked, picking through some papers. "Probably an editor or an agent."

"Rejected author?" Kate wondered, knowing already that wasn't the answer. Why would a rejected author go after her mother? "She liked to cook." She noted, one of her hands sliding over the smooth granite of the island in the middle of the kitchen, her mind sliding into a memory from childhood.

_"I'm baking them right now."_

_Eleven year old Kate Beckett, with her auburn hair tied back in a loose braid, climbed up onto the stool her mother had set up for her. "With the extra peanut butter? Dad really likes those."_

_"I saved the peanut butter just for you to put in." Johanna Beckett smiled, holding the measuring cup. "You washed your hands, right?" She asked._

_Kate nodded as she took the cup and started to empty it into the bowl where the batter was. Her favorite part of this step of the process was that she could never get ALL of the peanut butter out of the spoon, so when she was finished, she got to lick the rest of it off herself._

_Johanna smiled, watching her daughter finish up what was in the spoon. "Just like your dad." She said with a smile, kissing her forehead. "My looks and his taste buds."_

_Kate grinned, putting the cup in the sink. "I'm going to finish the card I started for him so when he gets home he can have the card and the cookies." She said, hopping down from the stool._

_"Why don't you bring it in here, sweetie? We can work on it together."_

_"Okay!" Kate called, skipping to her bedroom.  
_  
It was Castle, his voice filled with a new urgency, that broke her out of the memory. "I don't think she's the only person that lives here."

Kate walked out of the kitchen, where Castle was looking at pictures on the mantle. Several of the pictures contained Kat, but nearly in all of them with her there was a little girl. Not speaking, she walked down the hall of the spacious apartment and started opening up doors until she found what she was looking for. "Here's her room." She said, flipping the light on but not entering. "She had a daughter." Her mind was cycling through different scenarios, none of which at the moment made any sense. "How did she end up in an alley in White Plains?" She asked.

"And where's her daughter?" Castle asked, breaching the threshold of the room. "She's at least five. Or a very good reader." He said, holding up some books. "Alexis was reading these at that age." He explained.

"There were no signs of forced entry to the apartment." She said. "I think we should go have a word with the doorman." She'd been hoping to avoid having to talk to the doorman; the chances of her father finding out about their visit would increase after that happened. "I think I've got all I need from here."

They left the apartment in silence, and when they stepped in the elevator, Kate's hand hovered for a moment over the button for the seventh floor before hitting the one for the lobby. "How's Alexis? I feel bad that I haven't been able to see her since she's been home."

"She's good; excited to be back in New York. Enjoying her summer class at Columbia. She'd like to get a hold of you while she's home for her Sociology of Deviance class she's got next semester." Rick said.

She nodded. "I'd like to see her, too."

The pair exited the elevator and walked back towards the front door. "Recognize him?" Castle asked.

Beckett shook her head. "No. But, I'm never over here at this time, so…" She let the thought trail off, gripping her badge. "I'm Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD, this is Rick Castle." She flashed the badge. "Can you tell us about Kat Harper?" She asked, taking out a notepad.

The doorman was a male, about 35 years old, with short black hair and brown eyes. "I'm Ben Morrison." He said. "You're wondering about Kat?" He asked, beginning again after Kate nodded. "Always has a smile on her face. I work the late shift, so I wouldn't see her very often, but every time I did, it didn't look like she had a care in the world. Her little girl is adorable."

"Tell us about her, too." Castle said.

"Maya's the cutest five year old I've ever seen. Red hair, big green eyes. Kat's husband was killed overseas just after she was born. Norah Ralle, Kat's sister, came by and picked her up tonight; that was just as I was getting here. Kat left not too long after. I waved at her and she waved at me, but we didn't talk." He said.

"How did she seem? How did Norah seem?" Beckett asked.

He shrugged. "Both of them seemed fine to me." He looked from Beckett to Castle and back to Beckett. "What's going on? Are they okay?" He asked.

"Do you know where we can reach Norah?" Kate asked.

He shook his head. "All I know is that she lives in a building not too far from here. When Kat's husband died, she was over all the time helping her take care of Maya. At least, that's what I've heard. I've only worked here for about a year."

She made a note on the pad, extending her hand. "Thank you, Mr. Morrison. We'll keep in touch." She said. "Come on, Castle."

"This is weird." He said as they left the building.

"I know." She took her cell phone out of the pocket of her coat. "Esposito, have you found anything?"

"Canvas was negative. Ryan and I just got back to the station." He said.

"Run the name Norah Ralle through the system. I need an address."

"Sure thing." There was a moment where Kate heard his fingers run across a keyboard. "Okay. You ready for it?" He asked.

"Shoot." Kate took down the address. "Okay. We're going to go see her, and then we'll be back to the station. Has Lanie called?" She asked.

"She said she'll have a tox report in a couple of hours."

"Okay. Well, run Kat Harper through all the databases, see what comes up. Maiden name is Ralle." She paused and spelled it for him. "Let me know what you find when we get back." She turned to Castle, who was waiting anxiously for her report. "The canvas was negative, but we've got an address for the sister."

*****

Kate raised a hand to the door of the Manhattan apartment where Norah Ralle lived, unable to knock. _I was old enough to at least understand that I was never going to see her again. _

Rick stood a respectful distance away from Beckett, thinking about the turn this case was taking and his own daughter, sleeping in her bed back at his apartment. Maya Harper was somebody's Alexis. Beckett was someone's Alexis. He hated to think of what would happen to her if he were to, God forbid, meet an untimely end, but he hoped that she would end up as strong and as independent as Beckett. _Well, I meant it. You are extraordinary._ He'd replayed that scene so many times in his mind, each of them ending far differently than reality had.

"You okay, Castle?" Beckett asked, turning to face him.

He nodded, shaking out of his revelry. "Yeah. Just thinking about Alexis. She at least had me when she was growing up. I can't help thinking about this poor girl… Dad gets killed overseas and Mom…" He let the thought slide as the door opened, revealing a blonde-haired woman in red sleeping pants and an oversized hooded sweatshirt.

"Norah Ralle?" Beckett asked. "Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD, and this is Richard Castle."

"What's going on?" She asked, covering her mouth when she yawned.

"Can we come in?" She gestured to the inside of the apartment.

"Sure." Norah opened the door of the apartment, allowing them to come in. "I have my niece here, so if we could just keep it quiet…."

"It's about your sister, Kat." Beckett started, taking a picture given to her by the White Plains ME. "Her body was found tonight in White Plains." She paused, letting the news sink in.

Tears welled in her eyes, taking in the picture, and her head turned, presumably to where Maya was sleeping. "Oh God… And Maya." She whispered, her hands going over her mouth.

Kate continued, slowly and gently. "Ms. Ralle, I am so sorry for your loss, but I need to ask you a few questions about your sister."

Castle's eyes closed in on Beckett again. Her green eyes held the same empathy that he had seen countless times over the past four years, but behind it all was a fire he'd never seen. During their first meeting, he had complimented her sparking eyes, but now, he wasn't quite sure what to think.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: This is kind of an interlude chapter. Not a whole lot of action on the murder, but a whole lot of team-y goodness.

**Chapter 3**

Castle walked into the precinct after making a run back to his apartment to change clothes and load up on caffeine. He'd fallen asleep in the back of the cab on the way back to the precinct, only to be awoken by the angry cab driver banging on the glass partition between the front and back seats.

He scanned the bullpen, eyes resting on an empty desk. "Where's Beckett?" He asked Ryan.

He nodded his head towards the darkened break room, and Esposito sitting next to the door, scanning some files. "She was already working on next to no sleep: I guess the coffee finally wore off. She's probably going to shoot us, but,"

"Letting her sleep is best for her right now." Castle finished. "What did you find out about Harper?"

"Former big time lawyer." Esposito called from his chair. "Made the circuit on the non-profits, but then she just got a job with an indie publishing company, SoHo Loft Books." He said. "Husband was killed outside of Basra in an incident with rebels five years ago, and she's been receiving his pension ever since. Not so much as a speeding ticket on her record."

"We're running her full financials." Ryan said. "Her sister is coming by in a few hours to help us fill in the gaps." He grabbed his ringing cell phone off the desk. "Ryan." He said, eyes flashing up to Castle as he spoke. "Okay. You're forwarding everything here? Thank you, bro." He slid his phone shut. "That was the White Plains lead detective. They found her cell phone, but other than that, the alley is a bust. No weapon in the dumpsters, there's like, a dozen different sets of footprints. Their preliminary finding is that she wasn't even killed there."

"She didn't tell her sister where she was going, apparently it was something to do with work." Castle said.

Esposito nodded. "That's what Beckett said." He flashed another file. "Even with her husband being killed five years ago, she still volunteered with the Family Readiness Group of his old unit. There's a newspaper clipping of her at a fundraiser at Central Park four months ago."

"Beckett's awake." Ryan said, noticing that the lights were slowly turning on in the break room.

Esposito pushed his chair away from the door, rolling back to his desk, and Ryan dropped into his chair quickly, leaving Castle standing as the door flew open, revealing Kate. "So, you two had better have things for me." She said, dropping down into her desk chair and typing on her keyboard.

"She worked for SoHo Loft Books, an indie publishing company. We're running other names involved in the company, authors, investors, other lawyers." Esposito said. He and Ryan quickly walked her through the same things they had told Castle.

"Find out what non-profits she worked for, and pull me all the case files from the other victims. Including my mother."

"Coffee?" Castle asked, setting her a green mug in front of her.

She looked from the mug to him, and back to the mug. "You found another one?" She asked, smiling when she read 'Innocent Bystander.' She was touched by the gesture; ever since the mug had been broken three years ago, she'd wanted another, but the website that had sold them had sold out their entire stock.

He shrugged. "It was going to be your birthday present, but…" He let the thought drift. "I thought you could use the pick-me-up. I'll just have to get you another present."

"We catch this person and it'll be enough of a birthday present for a lifetime." She said, nodding her thanks at Esposito when he placed a stack of files on her desk. She pulled the top one off and started scanning. "Lanie called yet?" She asked.

"Yeah. She'll have results within the hour." Ryan said.

She turned in her desk chair, looking at the two as they collaborated over another file. "Thank you." She said with a nod to the pair.

Castle watched the scene closely, continuing to be impressed with the three detectives in front of him. He'd written scene upon scene featuring friendship and camaraderie among his characters, but the simplicity of this exchange struck him. Back when Esposito went behind Beckett's back to show him the file of her mother, part of him thought the detective was kidding when he had said _I'll make you bleed_ if he told Beckett it was him. Soon after though, Castle realized he'd been dead serious. Esposito and Ryan were fiercely loyal to Beckett, and he could see it in their eyes that catching this guy was just as important to them as it was to Castle himself.

"Going to fall asleep on me, Castle?" She asked, making a note on a post-it in one of the files.

He shook his head, the moment in his mind gone. "Nope. What do you need me to do?" He asked.

"Exactly what you're doing." She said. "There's something about you, sitting there, that's lending some sort of normalcy to this situation."

"Then sit here I shall." He proclaimed. "And I'll run and get you coffee."

She smiled, her own gaze falling on a picture of her and her father at the precinct Christmas party last year. "I called him before I fell asleep and left him a message. I asked him to meet me at that café a couple of blocks from here. He needs to know what's going on."

Castle nodded, glad she had called him, but unsure of why she felt the need to tell him.

"Come with me?" She asked. "He likes you, and quite frankly, I'd like to have another person there when I'm trying to tell him this news."

He paused for what he thought was forever, but knew it had just been a fraction of a second before "Sure," spilled out of his lips.

Beckett didn't miss a beat after his word, swinging back to work on the file she had been scanning. "Here, speed reader, see how many of these you can get through before Norah makes it here." She set a few files in front of him with a pen and another stack of post-it notes.

"Sure thing." Castle opened the first file, watching Beckett out of the corner of his eyes. The power nap had taken away some of the darkness from beneath her eyes, but it was replaced by a new kind of weariness. She had told him after the release of his second Nikki Heat book that the two years she spent trying to bring her father back to sobriety had been the hardest two of her life, mainly because it felt like she too was trying to gain her own sobriety. She was worried about him for this very reason; worrying about him made her spend less time on worrying about herself and going back down that dark hole she had spent the first few years on the police force in.

_You won't have to do it alone. We can do it together._


	4. Chapter 4

Shut the front door! I'm so floored by the response this story has had. I was going to try to reply to everyone personally, but with dial-up internet, I'd spend 12 hours a day just trying to keep up with it. But I love and appreciate all the comments and I hope I can keep doing this story proud!!! To everyone who has put this story on their story alert and to everyone who put me on their author alert, I'm going to do my very best to make sure this is a story you want to keep following.

THANK YOU, (once again!) And here it is, a REALLY long chapter 4 :D

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**Chapter 4**

In the few hours since they had last seen Norah Ralle, the 28-year-old web designer looked like she aged at least ten years. She walked into the 12th Precinct with her niece in tow, her bag loaded with books to hopefully keep the little girl's mind occupied during what she was sure was going to be a very difficult conversation.

"Norah." Beckett greeted her with what she had hoped was a semblance of a smile. "We've got coffee and a little table set up for Maya in the breakroom." She told the woman, gesturing to the room where Castle was already sitting.

"Thank you." Norah said as they went in. "I brought those photo albums that you asked for…" She said, taking two thick albums out of her bag. Maya ran over to the table where her aunt pointed and started looking for a picture to color.

"We'll take good care of these." Castle said.

"You really think they could help?" Norah asked.

"So far, the law has been this connecting factor between all of the victims. We're going to start looking at faces and see if anyone had particular people in common or not." Kate said.

"Ever since Evan died, the most constant people in her life were Maya, me, a couple of regular baby-sitters, the staff in the building, and her co-workers at SoHo." Norah explained. "I don't know all of them, but those I did know sure didn't seem like killers, at least to me."

"We have others checking out her co-workers at SoHo and everyone who lived in the building, but do you know who else she would have watch Maya? I mean, you probably couldn't watch her all the time, I'm sure she had back-ups." Kate said.

"She told me she had a decent support system in the building, ever since Evan died. People would come over and give her a hand with repairs and stuff, and Maya was just a magnet. It's hard not to love her."

Beckett let her eyes drift over to the girl in the corner, coloring in a book that Norah had brought to keep her busy. "Anyone stick out in your mind?" She asked.

"There was this elderly man, I think he lived on the 7th floor. Said Maya reminded him of his own daughter. I think his name was Jim or something. I only met him once, and he seemed like nice enough of a man."

She coughed on the sip of water she took. "Jim?" Kate asked. As far as she knew, her father was the only tenant on the 7th floor of the building with the name of Jim. "Would you recognize a photo?" She asked.

"Yeah. And Maya would too, no doubt. She loved it when he would come over. Our parents were killed in a car crash before Maya was born and Evan's parents don't really come over any more because seeing her was just too much a reminder of what they lost." She said.

Beckett had no idea that Castle had risen from his chair next to her until he returned with the picture that she had had taped to the bottom of her computer screen. "Is this him?" He asked, passing the picture in front of her.

Norah nodded. "Yeah. That's Jim." She looked up, frantic. "Don't tell me something happened to him, too. I already don't know how to tell her her mother isn't coming home, but this would just break her."

"He's okay." Beckett said, surprised that she was able to find her voice. "Would you mind if my partner takes Maya back to my desk? There are a few," she paused, "sensitive things to discuss with you."

"That's fine." Norah said.

Castle could tell from the look in her eyes that she was going to come clean to Norah about all of it; the murders decades ago, Kat's connection to those murders, and her own connection to the man named Jim. "If you would, Castle." Beckett said, gesturing to the little girl.

"Yeah. Sure." He stood up, walking over to the girl. "Come on there, Maya, I know where the Detective hides the good candy." He said, holding his hand to her.

"You can go with Mr. Castle, honey." Norah attempted a smile for her benefit. "I'll be out soon." She promised. "Then we'll go to the park we saw on our way here."

"Okay." She said with a smile, gathering her book and her colors. "Will you color with me?" She asked.

"Absolutely. Detective Beckett's desk could use some more color." He said, making sure to close the door behind him.

"Why do I feel like I'm about to be one of those characters in one of those movies who completely gets blindsided about twenty minutes before it ends?" She asked.

Beckett didn't speak, just laid out the files in front of Norah. "These murders happened in Upper Manhattan 18 years ago, all in the same fashion. The murderer was never caught." She put Kat's file on the table. "Your sister's murder raised the same red flags for us. We are certain that the same person that killed these people, also killed her."

"What makes you think you can find him after all these years?" Norah asked, her eyes welling up with tears.

She held up the file that was most familiar to her, pointing at the picture paper-clipped to the outside. "Johanna Beckett was my mother. This case was the reason I became a cop. You and Maya are not going to have to go 13 years without an answer; without closure. You have my word."

*****

Castle sat in Beckett's chair with Maya on his lap, coloring with one hand coloring and his head looking towards the break room. It had killed him a little on the inside to have to leave the room, but he understood. It didn't take a degree to see that Kate saw a part of herself in the little girl, and with this case as personal for her as it ever could be, the less people in the room for that conversation, the better.

He looked back to the desk and his picture as the door opened. "If you need anything at all," Kate told her as she hand Norah her card, "please don't hesitate to call me."

Norah nodded, blowing her nose. "Thank you, Detective." She shook her head. "It will get better, right?" She asked. "I'm going to try to tell her today, but, it will get better?"

"Call me Kate." She said. "I'm still working on that, myself. It does get easier to carry it with you. And you'll always have Maya. The memory of your sister, as well as your brother-in-law, will always be alive with her."

Norah nodded once more, her gaze drifting to Maya. "Thank you." She repeated once again in a whisper.

"I think your Aunt's done." Castle said. "Go show her your picture." He said with a smile. Maya was quite the artist, and she had spent their time drawing a field of flowers for her aunt. He stayed at Beckett's desk to watch the three.

"I drew this for you." Maya said, holding the picture up in front of her aunt.

Norah tried smiling again, kneeling down to her level. "It's beautiful, honey. What do you say we head to the park?" She asked.

"Rick drew a picture for you, too." Maya said, turning to Kate.

It didn't surprise her to hear that Castle told her to call him Rick. "Did he, now?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at him in her desk chair.

"We ate gummi bears." She said with a smile, looking Kate in the eye as she too, knelt to her level.

"What do you say to the Detective?" Norah prodded.

"Thank you!" The girl said with a smile, throwing her arms around Beckett, who was clearly surprised.

Kate smiled and relaxed after a moment, hugging her back. "You're very welcome, Maya. Have fun with your aunt today." She watched them leave for a moment before turning back to Castle and her desk.

He moved from the chair without any prodding, concerned when she fell into hers rather unceremoniously. "This just got a lot harder." She said, checking her cell phone. "I have to tell him. Everything."

"Still want me to come?" He asked.

Kate nodded again. "I do." She looked around her desk. "So, where's this picture?"

"Ah!" Castle's eyes lit up, grabbing the paper from the inbox on her desk. "One Richard Castle original." He said with a smile. "You okay?" He asked.

"I can't help but think about Maya. To lose her father when she's too young to remember, and now, to lose her mother like this." She sighed. "We're going to solve this case."

"Beckett?" Captain Montgomery stepped to the door of his office. "A word?" He asked.

"Yes, sir."

*****

Two hours later, Beckett and Castle slid into a booth at the Marquee Cafe and ordered coffee, waiting for Jim Beckett to arrive. Ryan and Esposito were off, Ryan was spending the day interviewing co-workers at SoHo Loft Books, and Esposito was canvassing Kat's floor and the staff in her building.

"You want to talk about Montgomery?" Castle asked. "You were in there for a while."

She shook her head. "No cop wants to have that conversation with their captain." She said. "I can imagine no captain wants to have it with one of their cops, either."

_"I'm checking in with Ryan and Esposito often. The first sign that your involvement in this goes southward, I'm pulling you off the case and sending you home. I hope I don't regret my decision to let you function as the lead detective on this, Beckett."_

Four years after she had become a detective, the lead detective on the team she'd been on had been summoned to the captain's office, and had been reprimanded for getting too involved in a case and letting it cloud his judgement. He'd told his team the details of the conversation, and a week and a half later found himself under review for that and several other incidents, and subsequently let go from the NYPD. It was after that incident that Beckett had found herself promoted to lead detective of that team.

"You've got the best record in the 12th. Montgomery really wouldn't take you off the case, would he?" Castle asked.

"He wouldn't be doing his job right if he had least didn't ask me if I could handle it, but he's right. Cops who get too involved let things fall through the cracks. More often than not, they end up not catching the killer and letting the families of victims down. I resolved to never be one of those cops." She looked up as the bell on the door rang. "There he is." She stood up from the booth so he could see them easier. "Hi Dad." She said with a smile.

"Are you okay, honey? Your voicemail…" His eyes were worried as he hugged her.

"We'll explain it all, Dad." She gestured to the booth. "You remember Castle?"

"Indeed I do." Jim Beckett said with a smile as he sat down. "Rick, it's great to see you again." He extended his hand to the writer.

Castle returned the gesture. "You too, Mr. Beckett."

Kate seated herself next to her father. "There is no easy way to say this, Dad." She started. "Someone in your building was murdered last night in White Plains. Kat Harper."

He gasped. "Kat's dead? What about Maya?"

"Maya's with her aunt. Norah. There's more, though." She paused, trying to collect her thoughts. "The injuries on her body…" She bit her lip, trying to furiously blink back tears. "The injuries on her body were consistent with how Mom was killed."

The older Beckett sat in silence, trying to absorb what his daughter just said. "Are you sure, Kate?" He asked.

She nodded. "We're certain." On the way over to the cafe, Lanie had called Kate to tell her that the injury patterns and even the shape of the weapon used were exactly the same as the other murders.

"Do you have any leads?" He asked when he could finally talk again.

"We're piecing together Kat Harper's life in hopes it gives us something to compare to the earlier cases." She said. "We've got the best ME in New York looking at her body and we've got two police precincts working on this."

"We'll find this person." Castle said.

"We're going to be sending a couple of uniforms to keep an eye on your building. If you need anything at all… I'll tell them to keep an eye out for you." She said. "And I'm going to have my cell phone on me at all times. Don't hesitate to call me. Or stop by the precinct."

He let out a breath. "I think my next phone call is going to be to my sponsor."

"Dad…"

He put a hand over hers. "I'm going to be just fine, honey. I've got a great support system built up. I'm more worried about you. Are you going to be okay investigating this again?"

"It's not just me who lost a mother to this guy. Maya Harper deserves a cop who's a hundred and ten percent focused on finding the answer. I'm going to find the answer, find who killed her mother, for her, and if it finds me an answer, even better."

* * *

Still interested? I'm planning a fairly intense chapters 5/6, so it'll probably be a few days before they're up. As always, thanks for reading!!


	5. Chapter 5

So, here it is! I finally got to write some Kate and Alexis interaction, which I was really excited to do. Thanks again for reading!

Ah. And, just for good measure, I don't own any of this. Including the quote from Heat Wave I use.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

The return trip to the precinct from the cafe was quiet; Beckett didn't have to look at Castle to know he was resisting the urge to try to diffuse the situation, which she was grateful for. "Thank you." She said.

"For what?" He asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"Not trying to out-Castle the situation."

"You're radiating." He said.

_I kind of inferred it. You radiate subtext._

The line from Heat Wave still made her smile to this day, and she couldn't help but smile at Castle's statement. "I'm just going to be worried about my dad for a little bit, I guess." She said. "He was already calling his sponsor as we were walking out the door."

"He's strong." Castle said. "And he believes in you."

*****

"What do you guys have for me?" Beckett asked when they arrived back at the precinct.

"I've got a couple of red flags from the publishing company that we're running through the system." Ryan said. "Esposito said he's finishing up a couple of interviews with the staff and he'll be back."

"What kind of red flags?" Castle asked.

"Stories that I found a little iffy, alibis, you know, the usual." He said. "Lanie called, too. Told her you were talking to your father and she faxed over the full report. Says you can stop by when you get the chance and she'll go over it."

Castle return from the fax machine, holding the bundle of papers. On the top sheet, Lanie had scrawled in her familiar handwriting 'What you need to know,' and listed facts about the autopsy. "She put up a fight." Beckett said, reading over the injuries. "The way this reads, it's a lot of defensive injuries, as well as the stab wounds. Where are we on her cell phone and cell phone records?" She asked.

"They're having a hard time getting a ping on her phone. Either the battery is dying or it's been destroyed." Ryan said. "We'll have the records before this hour is over."

Beckett nodded, answering her cell phone. "Beckett." Her eyes flashed up to Ryan and Castle. "12th and Lexington? We're on our way. Call for back-up." She slid her phone closed, grabbing her coat. "Esposito's got a lead. Let's go!"

*****

The army of police cars screeched to a stop in front of what looked to be an abandoned warehouse, three squads of cops piling out of cars and strapping on bulletproof vests. Beckett strapped on her vest and checked her service piece as she issued orders, and then remembered Castle.

For once, she didn't have to go very far to track him down. He had put on his writer vest and stayed next to the car, letting everyone do their work. "We don't know what we're going to find in here." She started telling Castle, stopping in her tracks at the determined look in his eyes.

"I'm going with you." He said firmly, knowing the next line that was coming from her mouth. "Anything you ask me, I'll do, but not that. Don't make me stand out here alone while you're in there."

That moment was different from all the other times she'd told him to stay in the car. 'You' didn't mean the three squads of cops readying to storm the building. 'You' meant her, his partner, his confidant. Swallowing the lump that had somehow appeared in her throat. "You go in behind me. You listen to every word I say, and at the first sign of trouble, you run. Fast and hard. I can't be worrying about you while I'm in there, either." She said.

"Absolutely."

*****

Beckett made a slow circle around the room, and holstered her gun. "Damn it." She said. "Something was here. Someone was here." She said. "Ryan, get CSU down here right away. Rope off the scene."

Castle was circling the room with Esposito, stopping in his tracks when he felt a change in the floor. "Wait. Esposito, stand right here." He said, stepping aside. "Tell me if you feel a change." He said.

Esposito moved to stand where Castle had been standing, and after a second, grabbed his flashlight and pointed it to the ground. "There's a latch. Beckett!" He called.

She was giving orders to have the other officers comb the perimeter and start going through dumpsters in the area. "What's up?" She asked.

"Castle stumbled upon what looks to be a trap door." He said, his light pointing at the latch.

She knelt down with her own flashlight, quickly figuring out how to open it. "I'm going to throw it open."

Ryan moved to stand next to his partner, echoing his stance. "Ready." He said.

She threw the door open, pulling her gun out and aiming it down the hole. "NYPD!" She shouted.

"I'll go down." Esposito said, holstering his gun so he could get down the ladder.

Beckett nodded. "We'll follow." She turned to Castle. "When I go down, give me a five count and then follow." She instructed.

"Gotcha." He watched the three disappear into the darkness, and he followed after his silent five-count. "Whoa! Can you say stalker?" He asked, looking at the wall full of pictures.

"I'm having the uniforms bring in the guy I talked to." Esposito said, dialing his phone. "I have a bad feeling."

Beckett was already on the phone with the station, arranging for a forensics team to arrive at the location and go over the secret room with everything they had. "These are pictures of my mom." She said, scanning the wall. "And I'm with her in some of these." She was surprised to see herself on the wall; a younger, more carefree version of herself before life changed forever. She barely recognized the girl in those pictures anymore.

"Kat Harper. And Maya. And the other victims from around the time your mother was killed." Castle said, joining her at the wall.

"This is our guy." Beckett said. "Esposito, start running the name of your guy through the system. Pull all known associates, financials, phone records. Castle and I are going to head back to the station and wait for the uniform to pull in your suspect."

*****

"She'd ask me to watch Maya sometimes. I swear, I didn't have anything to do with her getting killed!"

Beckett stalked around the table in the interrogation room like a lion stalking her prey as she looked at Michael Rosen. "You're telling me that's your only interaction with her?" She asked, trying to flesh out exactly how willing he was to lie to her.

"Yes."

She shook her head. "Oh, Michael. Why are you lying to me?" She asked, setting the papers she was holding on the table. "Kat Harper's cell phone records. There is incoming call after incoming call from your apartment to her phone."

"Those calls aren't from me."

"They're from your apartment, and according to your rental agreement and what you told Detective Esposito, you live alone. If they're not from you, then who are they from?" She asked, slamming her hands on the table. Her eyes pierced his and she spoke again. "How did you know about the warehouse?"

"There were these guys who were outside the building one night. I was going on my nightly run, and I saw them duck into it. I didn't think anything of it until that guy showed up at my door today."

"Uh huh." Beckett said, clearly not believing his statement. "I think we're done. Don't leave town until we talk again." She instructed, leaving the room.

Castle followed her to the break room and closed the door behind him. "You okay?"

She let out a long breath, pouring a cup of coffee. "I'm going to have him tailed. That idiot knows something." She said, looking towards the interrogation room, where Michael was being escorted from. "We're at square one, again, no closer to finding out who killed these people. I feel like I'm letting Maya Harper down." She said. "And letting my dad down all over again."

"Come over tonight. It'll give Alexis a chance to see you, a chance for you to eat some actual food, and try to relax. Killing three birds with one stone. We won't have the results from the warehouse until tomorrow, and Ryan and Esposito will be running the stuff you told them to for the better part of the night." He said. "Tell me it's not a good plan. I dare you."

She looked at him, and honestly couldn't find fault with his logic. Another sleepless night would probably warrant Captain Montgomery fulfilling his promise to pull her from the case, and that's the last thing she wanted. "As long as you're not cooking." She called, walking back to her desk.

*****

"Alexis? I'm home! I brought Beckett!" Castle called as the two walked through the door of the loft. He threw his keys on the table, followed by his cell phone. "Can I take your coat?" He asked.

Before she could answer, Alexis appeared and threw her arms around Kate, talking a mile a minute about how glad she was to see her but how sorry she was about everything that was going on. "You should probably let her breathe, pumpkin." Castle said, smiling at the sight of the two together.

"Oh yeah!" She said, untangling herself. "Sorry."

"Hey," Kate said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "we've got a bunch to time to catch up on. Your hug isn't over yet."

Alexis grinned, leaning into the embrace. "Gram's out getting the food." She said. "Should be back soon."

"How was your day?" Castle asked, bending to kiss his daughter's cheek.

She shrugged. "All right. Couldn't concentrate in class today; thankfully he let us out early." She said. "Checked out some books from the library and came home. Stayed away from the news, though, after I read the Times. They're already running something about the murder."

"It figures." Castle sighed, frustrated.

At that moment, Martha walked through the door, holding bags from the Castle's new favorite eatery in New York, Molozzi's Italian. "Are they home, Alexis?" She called.

"We're here, Mother!" Castle called back.

"Okay!" She set the food down on the kitchen table. "Alexis, let go of the woman so I can give her a hug too." She said with a smile, moving to hug the detective. "We're pulling for you, Kate." She told her as they parted.

"Let's eat!" Castle said, setting out the boxes from Molozzi's. "I think she brought back half the restaurant." He joked.

"I've got plates and stuff." Alexis said.

Sampling Italian food with the Castle family wasn't the way she had envisioned spending the evening, but, as she sat talking and laughing with them, she was glad that he had made the offer to her to come over. For a moment, the burden of the murder and the investigation faded away and life was back to normal again.

*****

So, my current outline has two chapters left. I've got most of six written and it's about twice this long, so I might split it up into two parts. (And for those of you who are Beckles and like angst, it'll be the chapters for you.)


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Chapter 6. I know some of you have been waiting a LONG time for this and I'm sorry for that - blizzards that keep me snowed in at work away from my computer, wedding planning and writers block to blame for that. My brain wanted to write the very end of the story first, and this part was just really hard for me to come up with for some reason. I mean, I don't know if I'll ever like this part. A big shout out to all my reviewers and readers! :) You guys are always awesome and the reason I keep doing this.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

After having supper and spending an hour or so chatting with Alexis about school, the youngest Castle retired to her room to work on homework, and Martha to her room to work on lines for an upcoming production. In return, Beckett and Castle ended up in his office; Rick sat in the chair behind his desk, and Kate walked along his bookshelves, too on edge to sit down.

"I'm glad you made me come over." She told him after a long pause. "Getting out of the station was exactly what I needed. And getting a chance to see Alexis was worth it, too."

The relationship that had developed between Alexis and the detective was one of the best unintended side effects of writing Nikki Heat. Castle had never dreamed that his daughter would grow to depend on Beckett, not just to keep her father safe out in the field, but as a true friend and role model. It had been a role that he knew she'd be reluctant to fall into at first, but it had become just another layer to her.

"It's quite a view out this window." She said.

He stood from his chair to move next to her. "It really is." He said, using her moment of distraction to gaze at her features, thoughtful and distant. He wondered what she could be thinking about, but gathered it was probably something about the case. "Sometimes I find Alexis curled up in here with hot chocolate and a blanket and a book, and most of the time she's fallen asleep here." He said.

She smiled, looking at the preview copy of _Heat Exchange_ that was sitting on the chair. "Can you believe it's almost over?" She asked, picking it up. "Our last case we work together is going to be finding my mother's killer, just like Nikki and Rook."

He laughed. "I had no idea life would imitate art. If I would have known, I probably would have thought of another plot. Same ending, though. I do like how I ended it." He said with a smile.

"I haven't been able to get that far yet. I've got a theory on who the killer is…" She said. "Will I like the ending?" She asked, turning around to look at him.

"I sure hope so." He said in a low voice, distracted by how close her half turn had brought her to him. Even with her admission of feeling better after seeing Alexis, he could feel the tension radiating off of her and he could make out the familiar, but faint smell of cherries.

The thought of ending their working relationship brought up all kinds of feelings for him, and all of them ended in life not being the same without seeing her every day. In the moment that followed his statement, he imagined saying something to her to that effect, but seeing the faraway look in her eyes, he buried it. The last thing she needed to deal with at the moment was a profession of feelings from him.

"Dad's hoping they get together for good." She found herself saying. Silence, paired with the fact that this would be her last case with Castle, and she was in a room alone with him, was not a good combination.

She had no idea how long they looked at each other, but the high pitch of her cell phone pierced the moment. "It's my Dad." Kate said, looking at the caller ID. "Hi Dad." She said, turning away from Castle.

*****

A weekly stop at Remy's for a burger and shake had become a bit of a tradition for Castle and Beckett since Heat Wave had come out, and after another frustrating few days with no leads, Castle had suggested the familiar spot.

Working on her Oreo shake, she was listening to Castle try to cheer her up while spinning one of his future book stories to her. She had to admit, listening to his over-dramatic tale was making her feel a bit better about the wall they had hit in the case.

"You're back to ice bullets? The end of Nikki Heat bringing on some serious blockage?" She asked dryly as her cell phone rang. "Beckett." She paused, her eyes flashing to Castle. "Esposito. What do you have?" She asked.

"Rosen forgot to mention that four times a week, he works the overnights at a packaging company six blocks away from his apartment." He told her. "Came up in the financials." He said. "Talked to his supervisor. Hangs out with a couple of guys from the shift before his."

"Did you cross the phone calls with his work schedule?" Beckett asked.

"He was telling the truth about those. Every call, he was at work. Timestamps and video to prove it." Ryan said.

"What about the guys he hangs out with?"

"Guy is going to get back to me. Different shift supervisor." Ryan said.

"Go down there and make them cough up the info. The building has cameras in the elevators, but not covering the full floor. Once we have the pictures from them, start scanning the elevator video. And go back to the doormen of the building." She said. "I'm with Castle. We'll be in in fifteen." She turned around, grateful to see that he was already holding her coat for her and he had put more than enough money on the table. "We should probably talk. About Nikki Heat ending."

He shook his head. "I'll always be here. Your mother's killer might not always be."

*****

"Guess who works the shift before Rosen comes in?" Esposito said, giving a file to Beckett as she and Castle walked into the precinct off the elevator. "It seems like everybody has jobs they're not telling us about."

"I'll be damned." She said, passing it to Castle after a moment. "Bring him in. Now."

*****

A heartbeat after Ryan and Esposito lead Ben Morrison into the interrogation room in handcuffs, Beckett sighed, squaring her shoulders as she turned to face Castle. "I need you to watch from the observation room." To her surprise, he took the news rather well.

"Okay." He told her in return.

"Check it out, he did something wrong. The guy tried to break some land-speed records when we introduced ourselves." Esposito said. "Tried to climb up some scaffolding, but all he succeeded in doing was getting about two feet in the air before we yanked him down."

"Yeah, he's a real Einstein. This is going to be fun to watch." Ryan said with a smile, holding the door of the observation room open for Esposito and Castle.

Beckett watched the trio disappear behind the door before breezing into the interrogation room and to her chair. "Mr. Morrison, I sure hope you didn't strain a muscle running away from my detectives."

"I didn't do anything wrong, lady!" He said, waving his arms in the air. "I was working when Kat was killed."

"Really? You want to tell me why you never told us about your second job? Or knowing Michael Rosen better than 'just a resident in the building where I work?" We've got it from your supervisor at both jobs that you and Rosen did know each other and hung out every night after your shifted ended and his began." She paused. "And yes, you have an alibi for Kat Harper's murder, but conspiracy to commit murder will gain you just as much time in jail as the murder itself."

"It's not a crime to have a second job. Especially in New York." He said. "It's not like working in that stupid building pays the rent and all the bills."

"Let me just ask you something. Why her? Why Kat Harper? Did you ask her out on a date and she say no?"

"Kat wasn't part of it. I would never take a little girl away from her mother." He said.

"We have elevator surveillance photos of you getting off at the same floor that Michael and Kat both lived on when when he's at work. Care to tell me what you're doing there, Ben?" She asked, setting the photos on the table.

"Mike would ask me to make sure he locked his door." He said.

"Why do I get the feeling you're lying to me, again?"

"I'm not going to talk unless I have a lawyer." He said.

She stood up, waving a hand towards the two way mirror. "Okay. Detectives Ryan and Esposito are going to read you your rights and take you down to booking where you can wait for your lawyer." She opened the door, revealing the pair. "Read him his rights and bring in Michael Rosen."

*****

In a homicide investigation, time was everything. The more time a case took, the less likely the killer would be caught.

It had taken one week to break Ben Morrison. Michael Rosen was just a tool to try to get close to Kat Harper. "It was these guys. I think they were in the army or something." He conceded in the interrogation room, looking at pictures from everyone who worked the same shift as he at the packaging company.

"They heard that I worked in the building, and they paid me to let them into Rosen's apartment. It was good money, and they said they knew her husband. Old friends from his very first tour in the Gulf or something like that." He continued.

"And you just let them in." Castle said.

"I'm not proud of what I did." Ben said. "They stopped showing up for work about a week before she was killed. I didn't know what was up. And then you guys showed up and said somebody killed her…"

"What do you know about these guys?" Beckett asked. "How many of them are there?"

"There's three. I knew what they told me. They said that they knew Evan Harper from his first tour. They weren't going to be in town very long and they all lived together."

Ryan burst through the door of the interrogation room. "We've got a warrant for a loft in Soho."

*****

Parking in the back of the loft, Beckett brushed down to check her service piece. "You know the rules. Stay behind me." She said. "Duck and cover at the first sign of trouble." She ordered.

He nodded, his own heartbeat rising. He couldn't imagine what she was feeling under the steely resolve she showed on her face. "Understood."

They exited the car to meet Esposito and Ryan, announcing their arrival. "NYPD! Open up, we have a warrant!"

The detectives in the group shared a look, Beckett nodded at Esposito to take the next step. He kicked in the door, and with guns drawn, they entered the two story loft. "Clear." Ryan said after stepping out of the room next to the foyer.

"Coffee is still warm." Castle said, feeling a mug sitting on the table. "Really warm, like 'someone's still here' warm."

Kate pulled her gun out of the holster. "Stack 'em up." She said. "Castle, stay behind me." She ordered, shining her light into the upper level of the loft.

"It looks like there's two stairs to get to the second floor. I'm going up." Esposito said, gesturing with his weapon.

She nodded as he left, sweeping the lower level along with Ryan. In a split second, she saw movement from the movement from the second level, but before she could seek cover, the shots rang through the air. She felt one lodge itself in her vest, but the second found flesh and she felt herself falling towards the ground.

Castle had been standing by Ryan when the shots rang out; everything seemed like it was going in slow motion as he watched her fall.

_Beckett._

He felt himself evade the hands that reached to pull him back and slid to her side. "Beckett? Can you hear me?"

"Castle, don't move!" Ryan hissed at him. "Not until we figure out where the shot came from." He pressed on his radio. "Beckett's down. Shooter is on the upper level, but we don't have eyes."

The first bullet was trapped in her vest, and the second had ripped into her thigh and was bleeding harder than Castle could deal with. "Beckett?" He repeated, taking her head in his hands and gently shaking.

"Castle?" She asked foggily, reeling from the gunshots and hitting her head on the way down. "Did he hit you?"

He laughed, completely aware this was a morbid time to be laughing. "Just you, Detective."

The pain from the gunshot in her thigh registered, and she hid what was sure to be a scream of pain by biting her lip so hard she thought she'd draw blood, and twisting a hand in Castle's writer vest. "Bleeding…" She gasped. "Have to stop...Shock…"

"Working on a plan for that." He said, looking around at his surroundings as he pressed his hands against the wound. His eyes flashed back to Beckett as her hand grasped him again as another spasm of pain went through her. He didn't want to take off her vest to get to her coat, so he quickly flipped his vest off and shed his sports coat.

"Shooter's on the upper level." She said, still gasping for breath.

"They're going to get him." He assured her, wrapping the sports coat around her leg and resuming putting pressure on the wound. "And then we're going to take care of the little scratch you've got going on here."

She attempted a laugh at that, only falling into a fit of coughing. "No time to quote _Heat Exchange_ to me, Castle." She said. "Did he hit you?" She asked again, seemingly not remembering the way their conversation had begun. Castle knew that this was a bad sign, and she only had a very short window before she became unconscious. She was losing a lot of blood out of the wound in her thigh, even with his sports coat wrapped around her leg.

"Beckett? Come on, Beckett. Stay with me." While most of his senses were focused on the woman lying on the ground, he thought he could vaguely hear a door being kicked in and Esposito shouting at their suspect. He saw Ryan out of the corner of his eye jump out from behind his cover and head up the stairs. "Ryan just did a superman over the table over there and ran up the stairs. They've totally got him."

"Castle…" Her hand flew up to her necklace, using some adrenaline-induced force to rip the chain off her neck and put it into Castle's hand. "Alexis...Please…"

He looked at the ring in his hand, which was stained with her blood. "You're going to make," he looked back up to her face, which had gone slack. "Beckett!" He tried to remember everything of his rudimentary first aid training as he checked her pulse and made sure she was still breathing. "Come on, Kate. Stay with me." He repeated. "Kate!"

* * *

So, we're getting ever closer to the end of the ride! I promise you, the ending I have more than makes up for this chapter....LOL. Thanks guys!


	7. Chapter 7

I can't say this enough. You guys are amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!! I got so many messages about the last chapter and it totally brought back my confidence.

I couldn't resist the cliffhanger in the last chapter! Sorry guys, I promise I'll make it up to you.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"The paramedics are on their way. But she took the bullet in a bad spot. They need to get here now." Ryan said to Esposito as he slapped cuffs on their suspect. "Castle? Are you okay?" He shouted downstairs.

"Beckett's losing a lot of blood and she's unconscious!"

The pair exchanged a look as Esposito hauled the cuffed man to his feet. Castle's voice was loud and frantic, which wasn't a good sign. "You'd better hope she makes it." He was relived to hear sirens in the background, knowing that just behind their police backup would be paramedics to look after Beckett.

*****

It seemed like an eternity before Ryan and Esposito came back down the stairs and made a path to Beckett and Castle. "She's barely breathing but she's got a pulse." He said.

"Paramedics are here." Ryan said.

"I can't wait for them to get in here." Castle said, worried about the length she had been unconscious. "She was moving her head around just fine when she was conscious. She'll be fine." He said to Ryan. "I need to get her out of here." He said, scooping both his arms under her and lifting her off the ground. Ryan and Esposito followed closely, and they met a team of paramedics with a gurney soon after leaving the building. They swarmed around her, immediately going to work.

"Take the seat in the ambulance, Castle. We'll be right behind." Esposito said. "And we'll call her dad from the car." He said.

He looked both men in the eye. "Thank you." He pressed his cell phone into Ryan's hands, following the gurney into the ambulance. "Call Alexis too, please!" He shouted as the doors closed and the vehicle raced off for St. Vincent's hospital.

With all the noise from the machines and the paramedics doing their job, he couldn't help but think back to the second Nikki Heat book, and the scene he had written after Roach and Rook found her being held hostage by some rogue Westies in Hell's Kitchen. Barely conscious in the ambulance and Rook riding in the same seat Castle was now, she'd made a crack about him seeing her in a hospital gown. He'd give back every dime he had made from the Heat books to hear Kate say something like that right now. He'd give back every dime just to hear her say _anything _right now.

*****

_AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY._

Castle thought for a moment the doors were mocking him as they swung back and forth, marking the threshold where he was forced to part from Beckett's side. The ambulance ride had been something out of a nightmare. She had briefly regained consciousness long enough for one word to escape her lips, and then her heart had briefly stopped beating.

Kate. Kate's heart.

He'd been surprised with how easily her name had rolled off his tongue at the loft, and during the ride where he had grasped her hand and pleaded for her to stay with him. First names had never been a part of their relationship until that very moment.

He'd carry the memory of how his name had sounded from her lips in the ambulance ride before the awful flat-line sound from the heart monitors forever. The finality of it...Now that he was standing alone in the corridor and no longer had Kate in his sights he felt truly alone.

"Dad? Dad?"

Still staring at the door, he wrapped his arms around Alexis. "I'm okay, sweetie." He whispered, hugging her tightly to him.

"Ryan and Esposito told me what happened. Kate….Is she….Will she…" She saw his shirt and hands, stained with blood and her eyes widened. "Dad, is that hers?"

He pulled back, looking at her tear-stained eyes. "Look at me." He said, stroking her cheeks gently. "It's going to take a lot more than one bullet to bring down Kate Beckett." He shook the mental image of her blood pooling on the ground out of his head. Alexis needed good news. "You have to keep thinking good thoughts."

She nodded, remembering the bag in her arms. "Ryan suggested I bring you a set of clothes; there's a hoodie, new shirt and jeans in here." She told him, hoping he'd put on the sweatshirt. "What can we do?"

"We're going to head upstairs and donate blood, actually." Ryan said, walking up to the pair with Esposito. "We've got to head back to the station and deal with the guy, but we've got time for that first."

"Whenever we have a friend in a situation like this, we just like to give back a little. Hospitals, especially St. Vincent's, have been really good to us." Esposito chimed in. "You can come up with us, if you want." He said to Alexis.

She nodded, sharing a look with her father, who also nodded. "I think I will." She said.

"Castle?" Ryan asked.

He shook his head, looking back to the door where Kate had disappeared behind as he put on the hooded sweatshirt. He'd seen enough blood that day to last him a lifetime. And the thought of being any farther from her than he had to made his stomach queasy. "You guys go ahead. I'm going to wait for her father." He said. "Somebody should be here when he gets here."

"Are you sure?" Alexis asked. "I could stay…"

"She'd want you doing something like this." Castle said, suddenly remembering the necklace in his hand. "And I can't think of anyone else to keep an eye on this while she's in there, too." He said, holding it out to her.

"Her mom's ring." Alexis was smart. Castle could already see that she was putting two and two together. "Dad, is she really okay? She wouldn't willingly part with this if it wasn't bad."

"I'm not going to lie to you, honey. She lost a lot of blood, but she is a fighter. You know that. She's not going anywhere. You mean the world to her too, and that's why she told me to give this to you for safekeeping. It's probably a good thing you're going to donate blood."

She looked at him one more time, asking the question once more. When he nodded, she turned to leave with the two other detectives. _Thank you_, Castle mouthed to the pair.

He fell into an empty chair, holding his head in his hands. He couldn't handle the thought of anything happening to her when he was sitting out here. He had begged her to not leave him outside the loft, and now where were they? She had technically died during the ambulance ride over.

"Rick?"

He looked up to see a bedraggled Jim Beckett standing in front of him. "What's wrong? Is Katie okay? Javier couldn't get into details with me over the phone. All he said was that she was shot and she was being taken here."

"She was shot. Twice. Her vest stopped one of the bullets, but the other… She's in the OR right now. Alexis and Ryan and Esposito are upstairs. Ryan and Esposito have to go back to the station." He said, glad that he had put on the hooded sweatshirt Alexis brought for him. The last thing that her father needed to see was the blood on his shirt.

He nodded, sitting down in the chair next to his. "Was it bad?" He asked. "I can see the blood on your hands."

"It got her leg pretty good. I tried to stop it," he looked down at his hands again, and they started shaking of their own volition, "it just kept coming." He whispered.

Jim clasped a hand on Castle's shoulder. "Rick." He gently shook. "Rick," he repeated more firmly, waiting until Castle looked at him to continue, "take a minute. Go to the bathroom and wash your hands. She's not going anywhere."

He wanted to laugh with how calm he sounded, but then remembered some of the tidbits Kate had told him of her early days as a cop. A knife to the stomach after a run in with some Red Dogs and a small-caliber gunshot to her shoulder by a drunk Westie on St. Patrick's Day had just been the tip of the iceberg when it came to injuries she had experienced in her tenure at the NYPD. Her father would have been her first call on both injuries. "Yeah." He said. "I should get myself together before Alexis gets back down."

"I'll let her know where you are if she comes back down."

He stood up, grabbing the bag from the floor and looking around for the nearest restroom. "Rick?" Jim said again, waiting for him to turn around before speaking again. "She'll be back. Katie loves a fight."

*****

He walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind him, whipping off the hooded shirt and staring at himself in the mirror. The red on his once white shirt stood in stark contrast to his pale skin, and the urge to get the reminder of what had happened that day overtook him as he ripped it off, sending buttons flying in the little room.

_Rick..._

Looking at the shirt in his hands and back to himself in the mirror, he tried to shake off the flashback of the ambulance ride that was going to plague him until he could see her again. Anger boiled over him at that point; anger at her shooter, anger at his current helplessness….Anger. And he didn't know how to stop it. He started scrubbing his hands with soap and water voraciously, watching the red liquid pool in the bottom of the sink before going down the drain.

The sound of the monitors flat-lining crashed into his consciousness with enough force to knock him to the floor. It couldn't end. Not like this.

*****

"We're putting the book tour on hold. And the release and the party." Castle said firmly. "Paula, Kate hasn't woken up yet. I'm not ready to do this. I can't do this with her here fighting for her life."

*****

"Rick?"

* * *

AN: Wooo….Another cliffhanger! Who's talking? Stay tuned, Castillions.

Not going to lie. I had fun imagining a shirtless Nathan Fillion :)


	8. Chapter 8

So, this is for AC, who wanted a chapter with no cliffhanger. It's short, but hopefully the second part of this will be up tomorrow night!

* * *

**Chapter 8, Part 1**

"Rick?" The voice asked again, more urgently than the last.

He jerked awake in the chair, eyes flashing to his watch and trying to figure out what time it was. "What's wrong?" He asked groggily, Jim Beckett coming into view in front of him. "Is Kate...How long has it been?"

"It's been seven hours." He said. "She's out of surgery. I just talked to her OR doctor, and he said that she came out of surgery just fine; no complications or anything. They're worried about her concussion, but she'll survive."

A weight lifted from his shoulders as he said those words and he fell back in his chair. "Thank you." He said, looking around. "Where's Alexis?" He asked.

"She wanted me to tell you she went home for a few hours and do some homework. She'd be waiting for your call." He answered.

Rick nodded, pulling his iPhone from his pocket. "Did you call the guys at the station?"

"Haven't been able to get a hold of Javier or Kevin, so I'm assuming they're still on the clock. The Captain knows, so, as soon as they can, they'll know." He said.

*****

Four days.

96 hours.

5,760 minutes.

_Too long._

_"She has quite a concussion. The longer we can keep her under, the better. It gives her body time to work through the injuries."_ The words from Kate's OR doctor had been encouraging when they finally heard from him, seven hours after they had brought her in. Four days after the shooting seemed like too long for her to still be unconscious.

As the days went on, Alexis came and went to and from class, keeping her father clothed and keeping both he and Jim fed. Ryan and Esposito brought paperwork from the station, but on day four they were back at the station and had started working another case. Lanie too stopped by whenever she could to check in, talk to her attending, and pass along her brand of silent strength.

He'd finally gotten through to Paula when she called to confirm details of the _Heat Exchange _release the second day Kate had been unconscious. They were going to push back the party and the release of the book until Kate was out of the hospital and back on her feet; the thought of celebrating _Heat Exchange_ without her didn't seem right. He'd exploded at her when she called during the surgery

Early morning on day four found Castle in his normal spot; next to her bed. This morning he couldn't sleep, so at the moment, he had his laptop on his lap, writing something deeply more personal than he had ever written before, still based off of Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook. He'd probably never publish what he was writing, or show it to another soul, but he found solace from the sound of the keys and the dim light of the screen.

"She broke her leg once, when she was sixteen." Jim Beckett said, setting a coffee down on the table next to Rick and sitting in the chair next to him. "She'd begged us to let her take a trip with some friends to Colorado over winter break, and when they got there, she decided to try snowboarding. Broke her leg on the second day they were there." He chuckled at the memory. "She hated the physical therapy, but she knew she had to do it to get back on her feet. Almost overdid it and set herself back to the beginning."

"Sounds like her."

"There she had both of us to help her through it." He paused, looking down at his cup. "And then she didn't have either of us. I'm not proud of that, but, she turned around and saved me. A big piece of Johanna lived on and it's inside her. That part of her that's always searching for the truth? That's Johanna. I'm glad she's had you around to watch her back; I have all of you to thank for not losing my daughter and the piece of Johanna she has inside her."

He considered Jim Beckett's words as he launched into another story from her childhood that Kate would probably kill him for knowing. Could he see what he'd been trying to hide? Could he see that he had feelings for his daughter?

* * *

Okay, It's short, but hopefully sweet :) Enjoy!


	9. Chapter 9

As promised, the highly anticipated part 2 of chapter 8!

Thanks to all of you who commented on my grammar slide in the last chapter...I guess I was asking for it, writing at 1 in the morning after a bad night at work and trying to pay attention at the CastleTV chat!

I must apologize for my lateness in posting this. Working and seemingly CONSTANT writers block and internet issues (I recently switched ISPs) have kept this story at a lull. But, if you'll bear with me, it will be finished (tonight!)

* * *

**Chapter 8, Part 2**

_Wake up, Kate._

Kate's eyes flashed open slowly, trying to adjust to the medium light of the room she had been sleeping in. She could tell that she'd been unconscious for quite some time when she tried to move her head, feeling her muscles stretch and groan at the motion. Reaching down, she also felt the mass of bandages on her left thigh and was relieved when she felt her toes move.

Moving her head slowly to look around the room, she also saw the familiar form of Rick Castle, slumped over in a chair; the upper half of his body resting on her bed. She tried speaking, but all that came out was a series of coughs.

He sat bolt upright in the chair, eyes bleary, but behind it all, a gladness at seeing her moving. "Hey." He said. "Don't try to talk just yet." He gave her an open bottle of water and watched her take a long drink from it. "Ryan and Esposito are at the station, working on a case. Montgomery is there with them, and your father and Alexis are downstairs in the chapel." He said in response to the thought that was surely on her mind.

She nodded, the coolness of the water washing down her throat and making it feel normal again. "Thanks." She said quietly. "What's going on?"

"Well, for one thing you got shot."

She tried to laugh, but it came out as a series of coughs again. "Don't make me laugh, Castle."

He smiled. "Should I go run and get your dad and Alexis?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I don't want them to see me quite yet. Let me wake up a little more." She looked around the room, taking in the small table that was stacked with disposable coffee cups from Java Loft. "There's like, fourteen cups on that table, Castle. How long has it been?" She asked.

He let out a breath, unsure if he should tell her, but he knew she'd figure it out. "You've been unconscious for four days. You lost a lot of blood from the shot and you had a hell of a bump on your head, and they decided the longer you were out, the better."

"The case?"

"Ryan and Esposito let Morrison and Finn, the name of the guy from the loft, know that the stakes go up when you almost kill cops. Morrison worked with a sketch artist and Finn coughed up the names. They got them yesterday. Full confessions from everyone. I'm under orders that's all you get to know until you get the okay to go back to work."

"And the shot?" She asked.

Part of him was surprised that the inevitable question about motive didn't come out of her mouth. "You're going to need physical therapy for your leg, but you should make a full recovery." He paused, wondering how to breach the next subject. "Once they let you out of here, they want you staying with somebody."

"Lanie probably won't mind…" She said.

"You wouldn't even think about Alexis, Mother and I?" He asked, a little hurt.

"_Heat Exchange_ is coming out, so you'll have the book tour and all the publicity, and I don't want to burden your mother and Alexis. Alexis doesn't get to spend a lot of time at home to begin with, and if she had to take care of me, she wouldn't leave at all."

"I put the book tour on hold." He said. "Black Pawn…" He stopped. That conversation was best saved for a better time, when they were out of the hospital and could be alone. "They put the party on hold too. I said I wasn't going to party with my Nikki Heat in the hospital." He said with a smile. "Alexis would love to have you around, and I know that Mother would too."

She nodded, smiling. "Thanks. You know how I love a party." She said dryly.

"Well, I wouldn't be able to enjoy it if you weren't there." He said in return. "Norah Ralle also stopped by with Maya yesterday. Ryan and Esposito told her what happened to you and they brought some food down for everybody. Seeing Maya definitely cheered your father up." His eyes brightened, remembering something else. "And, she drew you a picture when they were sitting here." He picked up the piece of paper from the table. "We've got a little Picasso in the making, I'd say."

She felt tears start to form in her eyes as she looked at the picture. "How are they holding up?" She asked.

"They're hanging in there." He told her. "Norah's been taking Maya to a child therapist and she said it's been helping; she sleeps through the night now. She's relieved these guys are behind bars and she can tell Maya when she gets older and asks questions that they're not going to hurt anyone else."

Her hand floated up to her neck, and looked back to Rick. "Alexis?"

"She hasn't let it out of her sight since I gave it to her; even got the chain fixed." He explained.

A silence fell over them, and she leaned back against her pillows. "I think I'm ready to see everyone now." She said.

"Okay." He stood up to leave, only to be stopped when he felt her hand grasp his. He looked at their joined hands and then back at her with a puzzled look on his face.

"Thank you." She said softly. "I don't remember much what happened in the loft, but I know you had my back. You kept me alive, and from what I can tell, haven't left since. Thank you." Kate let the hand that had gripped on to his drop back down to the bed.

Rick exited the room with a nod, planning on going downstairs to get Alexis and Jim, but they were already walking back towards the room. "She's awake." He said with a grin.

Alexis's eyes lit up as she hugged her father. "Go ahead, Mr. Beckett." She gestured to the door.

"She's eager to see you." Castle added. "I'll make some phone calls, let everybody know the good news."

*****

After waking from her coma, it had taken another two days for Kate to convince the doctor that she could do some desk work from her hospital room, and her first order to Ryan and Esposito had been to bring the file from Kat Harper's murder.

"So she had been convinced from the beginning that Evan had died in a friendly fire incident?" Kate asked Esposito.

"The Army denied it at every turn. Friendly fire doesn't do a whole lot for the image." He answered. "Hidden in Maya's bed we found file after file with her own research and notes from people she'd been talking to, and she built a pretty solid case about how Evan actually died. She was about to go to Representative Hahn with what she knew." He told her.

"What about the connection between Kat and the victims from the previous murders?" Rick asked.

"My mother consulted on some friendly-fire cases." Kate said. "Earlier in her career, but, it's there. I think she may have worked on one or two after she started teaching."

"From the notes you made when you were investigating, we pulled the cases she had been working on when she died. She'd been working on a couple of case studies for a class and one of them was what looked like a case of friendly fire." Ryan said.

"Morrison, besides what he told us, was clueless about the whole thing. He's been booked on conspiracy charges and his arraignment is next week. Talking to Finn, the guy that shot you, was actually helpful. He was the new guy of the group." Esposito said. "He was recruited after getting home from Afghanistan by the two other guys he rolled on, Jason and Will. All of them former Special Forces. Said it was their job to protect the reputation of the Army."

"And those who were going to uncover friendly fire cases were the top of that list in their minds." Ryan said. "Although, they never knew who the orders came down from. Said every time it was always a different messenger, different envelopes, different locations, with orders to burn the envelopes and pictures after getting the assignment. The wall that we found in the basement of the first warehouse, fingerprints were found only from Finn, Jason and Will. No one else."

"Which means we have nothing to find out who was giving them the orders. The pictures from the warehouse must have been surveillance photos." Kate said.

"DA's got the case, though, and she says it's a strong one. The knife we found on Will matched up with the wounds from all the murders. We can't tie Finn himself to the earlier murders, but we can tie him to Kat's murder." Esposito told her. "We can get Jason and Will on all the murders."

She closed the file and put it back on the table. "Good work, you two." She told Ryan and Esposito. "Montgomery said that you guys made a fearsome team."

"You don't mess with one of us and get away with it." Esposito said, bumping fists with Ryan. "We're just glad we could do this for you." He added.

Kate yawned, and her attending decided to step into the room at that point. "I'm going to say that the work session is over." He announced, stepping over to the bed. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Ready to go home." She announced, trying to look more awake than she felt.

The doctor gave her a stern look as he checked various monitors in the room, as well as her IV liquids. "Detective…"

"The leg's still a little sore. But the headache has gone away." She confessed.

He nodded. "I'm going to have a nurse come in and change your bandages. If you gentlemen would care to step out for a moment, we'll have her going again shortly."

*****

It was a week after that night that Kate was finally allowed to leave the hospital and step out into the warm summer air of New York. She'd missed it; the lights, the sounds, the noises, even the smells.

"Do you feel like killing a couple of hours outside?"

Leaning on her hospital-issue cane, she looked over to Rick, who had just finished a call on his iPhone. "Something wrong with your apartment?" She asked with a smile.

"Well, I just know it's been a long time since you've seen actual sunlight; figured you wouldn't want to go back to artificial so fast. The doctor said light exertion was okay." He said. "Oh good, there's Alexis." He noticed his daughter stepping out of a cab at the back of the hospital and waved her over. "So, Detective, what do you say? An afternoon with no murders and the most sunlight you can find in New York City?" He asked, wrapping an arm around Alexis. "And, of course, us?"

Kate had to admit that she was craving as much sunlight as she could get after a week and a half in the hospital. Looking at the pair, both wearing 'I'm so innocent' expressions, she relented. "Sure, you two. Show me an afternoon with no murder and lots of sunlight." She said with a smile.

Alexis jumped and squealed, while Rick motioned for someone to start a car. "We had this all planned." Alexis explained as the car with tinted windows pulled up in front of them.

Kate raised an eyebrow at the older Castle. "What if I said no?" She asked as they got in the SUV.

"I was going to have Alexis ask. She can be persuasive."

Just to prove the point, Alexis flashed Kate a large grin, and Kate knew she would have given in at that sight. "Okay, so where are we going?" She asked.

Alexis shared a grin with her father, handing Kate a bag. "This should help you figure that out."

Slowly, she removed the tissue paper from the nondescript bag. "A Yankees game? We're going to a Yankees game?" She asked, pulling out the blue and white baseball cap.

Rick smiled. "Pulled a favor; a friend of mine isn't using his box today. We've got everything taken care of. Back entrance to the stadium, the box, food, everything. You're not going to have to deal with a bunch of random people; just Alexis and I."

*****

_**Notes:**_

So, I realized when I got to this chapter that resolving the murder suddenly meant less to me, and it was all about the building up of the relationship and the feelings and emotions. Have any of you Castle writers ever run into the same thing? I hope I'm not alone. :P

So, this is where I think I'm going to end this part of the story. Finishing up the epilogue as we speak! _Heat Exchange_ needs a launch party, after all! And of course, I did promise a fluff-filled last chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

Here we are, Castillions. The Heat Exchange launch party. Beware of fluff! There's kind of a lot, so I might be getting into the out of character range, but I needed to write massive amounts of fluff. I've had that kind of week.

Oh, there is a recent spoiler in this part - for the title of the next Castle book. It's just the title, since we really don't know what it'll be about yet.

Enjoy! (More notes at the end)

* * *

**Epilogue**

The SoHo club where the launch party was behind held for _Heat Exchange_ was only about three blocks from where Kat Harper worked, Kate realized as she stepped out of the limo Castle had gone out of his way to arrange for her.

When her cane hit the pavement, she heard the first call from a photographer. Thinking of the cane in her hand and the note that came with it made her smile as she braved the flashing lights; _It's not hospital issue, but Nikki Heat has got to have some fire, right?_ The cane was black and had flames painted on the bottom, making her think of the days where she'd have to have House on her DVR.

She walked through the press gauntlet, flashing a few smiles their way, and inside the party she was met by an excited Alexis. "Kate! How's your leg?" She asked with a smile.

"It's doing just fine." She answered. "How are you doing?" She asked, sharing a hug with her. "Did you get caught up on your classes? I feel bad I made you miss them…"

"I wanted to be at the hospital for Dad. And for you." She said. "It's okay. I mean, I've already got them made up except for a test tomorrow. There's someone I want you to meet." She grinned, pulling Kate over to the stools set up by the bar as fast as her leg would let her. "This is Brad Gavin. We met in our Italian class. Brad, this is Detective Kate Beckett."

Kate shook his hand, and smiled warmly at him. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I have read all the Nikki Heat books. It's so thrilling to be here with Alexis." He said. "She's told me so much about you; I feel like I know you."

"He hasn't met Dad yet." Alexis explained. "He's backstage, waiting for Gina's introduction. Grams is making the rounds, so we're just hanging out before everything gets started." She said, sitting back down on the stool next to Brad. "Esposito, Ryan, Lanie and the Captain are here," she gestured around the party. "Lost track of all of them, though." She said.

"That's okay. I'll just hang out with you two if that's all right." She smiled as she took the stool next to Alexis, gesturing to the bartender for a drink. "What was your favorite book, Brad?" Kate asked. She didn't expect Alexis to start laughing when she asked. "Did I miss something?"

"Tell her, Brad." Alexis said with a smile.

He was blushing. "_Naked Heat_ was actually my favorite book." He confessed. "I thought it did a really good job of getting into the backstory of Rook and Heat more, and showcasing how their relationship was changing."

*****

"We've seen Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook through thick and thin over the past four years, and in Heat Exchange, the gripping conclusion to the Heat series, we see the pair take on Detective Heat's most personal case, the death of her mother. Faced with insurmountable odds, the pair travels through the underbelly of New York as they try to solve the case and deal with their working relationship coming to an end." Gina introduced to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, our real life Rook, Richard Castle!"

He came out to a standing ovation, trying his best to ignore Gina as he stepped onto the platform.

"I still can't believe you're not taking the deal." She whispered in his ear.

"Believe it." He said, making eye contact with Alexis and Kate, sitting side-by side at the bar. "Hello New York!" He said with a grin, addressing the crowd.

*****

"I never thought when I started writing Heat Exchange that life would imitate art." He told the reporter. "Nikki Heat has been my favorite character to write, and I just hope that I've done Detective Kate Beckett and the NYPD proud by her."

She smiled in return, turning off her voice recorder. "Thanks, Rick. The piece will be up on the site just after midnight."

He nodded, waving her farewell. There weren't many people left at the party, mostly just the event staff and a few stragglers to finish out the bar. He was pleasantly surprised to see Kate sitting at the bar, scanning the room for someone. "Looking for me? I'm surprised you're still here." He told her.

"I'm surprised I didn't see you signing any chests tonight, Castle." Beckett said, smiling from her perch on the stool, twirling the cane in her left hand. "Rook's transformation rubbing off on you?" She asked.

"Something like that." He said, returning her smile as he took the stool next to her. "How's the leg?"

She smiled again, playing with the skinny straw in her drink. "You know, a bum leg at one of these parties is like a golden ticket. Everybody comes to you. It was kind of nice."

He nodded, gesturing to the bartender for a drink. "Alexis had to take off too; she's got an Italian final in the morning she's making up."

"And Brad?" She asked with a smile.

"Seemed like a nice boy." He said in return. They sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in thought before Castle spoke again. "You think your leg could stand a dance?" He asked.

She laughed again. "Dance, Castle? Where are we going to dance?" She asked.

He let out a small breath. Well, she didn't say no. "Come on." He said, standing up and holding out both his hands for her to help her off the stool.

*****

Beckett raised an eyebrow as he produced a key for the door that lead to the roof. "Do I have to worry about solving another murder?" She asked. "They don't just hand those out."

He smiled. "They do in exchange for enough money. Close your eyes." He ordered.

"What?" She said, laughing gently. "Come on, Castle. What's going on?"

"Close your eyes and you'll find out. We'll stand here until you do."

She finally relented, making a show of closing her eyes for him. "If this is like page 76 in the book, I'm going to hurt you."

He unlocked the door and used her free hand to guide her through the door. His heart pounded in his chest, hoping that she would enjoy what was waiting for her there. He'd put a lot of time, money and energy setting up what he hoped was the perfect scene.

"You can open your eyes." He said, letting go of her hand and eager to watch her face.

She was absolutely stunned at the sight in front of her. White string lights were laced up the sides and through the rafters of the pagoda that framed a dance floor. She guessed that there had to have been a hundred roses in the vases around the makeshift dance floor, and the glow created by the string lights, candles, and the natural lights of New York City made the picture even more beautiful. On another table sat his iPod in a speaker dock, a bucket with champagne and two glasses, and a large box with a bow on top. "Castle," she breathed, "I don't know what to say."

"That's good, because I don't expect you to say anything." He said with a smile. "This is my way of saying thank you." He said. "Nikki Heat has been the biggest hit I've ever hand, and I wouldn't have had any of it without you. Since everyone has been making the night about me, somebody should make it about you, too. This series is as much yours as it is mine. I know I've been having a hard time since my last day at the precinct, so I figure we can toast, I'm having some food brought up when we get hungry and have our own goodbye to the Nikki Heat era."

She couldn't help the lump that grew in her throat and avoided his eyes. During the past week she'd taken duty back at the station, the fact that the Nikki Heat series was ending hit her hard. She was going to miss her shadow, and while she might get a new partner, they were going to have big shoes to fill trying to get in Castle's spot. "So," she sniffed, "when's that dancing starting? I think I've got more than one in me."

He remembered the remote in his jacket pocket and pressed play as she propped her cane against one of the tables. "You need to lean on me?" He asked.

She nodded, limping back over to him. "Probably the best idea." She said. "Not sure how steady I'll be when put to music."

They swayed for a few moments in silence, two friends leaning on each other and enjoying the moment. "I wanted to tell you something before you read it in the newspapers. Since you read the book sections and all." Castle said, gathering his courage about a minute into the first song. "Back Pawn offered me a big chunk of change to write three more Nikki Heat books, and I turned them down."

She lifted her head up from his shoulder. "What?" She asked.

"The second day you were unconscious, I got a call from Paula. The pre-orders for _Heat Exchange _were through the roof, and they offered me a deal for three more books. It was three times as much as they had paid me for the first four. I turned them down the night you woke up."

"Why?" She asked.

"I can't shadow you any more. If it hadn't been for me,"

"If it hadn't been for you, no one would have connected the dots and realized that the same person that killed Kat Harper killed my mother and everyone else. You went to Dr. Murray behind my back, and even thought I hated you for it then, he was the one who saw the connection with Kat now. I got to call all of those families and give them closure, which was probably the most rewarding experience of my life." She said. "Yes, I got shot. But Castle, I'm a cop. It's a job hazard, and I'm going to make a full recovery. I'll be back to busting bad guys in no time."

"I had a lot of time to think while you were unconscious. Nikki and Jameson got their happy ending. Anything else with them is just…" He let the thought trail off. "It wouldn't fit. They deserved it."

Her breath hitched in her throat for a moment. "I wouldn't want her to meet a Derrick Storm ending, but you know, I'm biased." She tried to lighten the moment as they stood inches apart, contemplating the other.

"Kate,"

"Rick,"

They laughed, the tension between the two diffused for the moment. "I want to give you something." He said, leading her over to the table with the box. "It's nothing too extravagant. Scout's honor." He promised.

"You were never a scout." She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Just open it." He said after sticking out his tongue at her.

She slid the ribbon off the box and opened the top, taking out a framed picture of the two from the Cosmo photoshoot a week ago. "The photographer kept the cameras rolling through the whole thing; they got a lot of outtake shots. Alexis helped me pick this one out."

She shook her head. "I still can't believe you picked me up like that." At one point during the shoot, Kate had commented that her leg was in pain and a break would probably be in order. Castle had picked her up much in the same way as he had in the warehouse and set her in her chair.

"You said your leg hurt, so I thought I'd be a gentleman." He said.

"That you were." She told him with a laugh. "What's this?" She picked up a blue folder from the bottom of the box, opening it to reveal papers with lots of legal jargon on them. "What are these for?" She asked.

"There's been an offer made to turn Heat Wave into a movie." He said. "Those are what those papers are." He explained. "I'm not going to sign them unless you want me to. You've had enough people poking into you life since I started writing the books, and this would bring a whole new mess of that in." He closed the folder in her hands. "Think about it as long as you need."

She looked from the folder and back to him. "I'm touched, Castle. I really am." The gesture was huge for him. Four years ago, he probably would have signed those papers without a second thought to what she had to say. And now, he was putting the entire decision in her hands.

"You know, when we started this, I had no idea that the end was going to be so hard." He said, pouring the champagne.

"What's a copy of _Heat Exchange_ doing in here?" She asked, pulling the book out. "I already have a copy." She said.

"This one is special." He said, handing her a glass. "Go ahead." He said.

She started thumbing through the first few pages of the book, stopping where the dedication page should have been. The dedication was still on the page, but in addition, Castle had written a long letter wherever he could squeeze in a word on the pages with pen. By the time she had finished the letter, she didn't try to hide the tears in her eyes. "Me too." She told him in a whisper.

He set his glass on the table, and then put her glass and the book on the table. Wrapping his arms around her to support her weight, he swept her up in a kiss he'd been wanting to give her for years. When their lips parted their arms stayed locked around each other as they tried to catch their breath.

"What about Alexis?" Kate asked when she found her voice.

"Alexis? Other than the fact she adores you, what are you wondering about?" He asked in return with a smile. "You'd think she'd be alarmed by this shift? Meredith hardly calls her to see how college is going. You got a twitter account of your own free will just so you could keep in touch with her. When Meredith wouldn't fly out on parents weekend, you cleared your schedule to fly out with me. She barely let go of you that whole weekend. She's going to be more than okay with having you around outside of work. I might have to steal you away from her when I want a date when she's home. And the fact she's thinking about finishing up at Columbia doesn't bode well for me." He said with a smile.

"She and I are getting together tomorrow to watch Fame and have ice cream tomorrow night."

"She's at home now…" He said.

She shook her head, resting it again on his shoulder. "I don't want to leave just yet. And she's probably working on studying for her test."

"Good. Me neither." He said. "And you're right. Probably shouldn't disturb her."

*****

The rest of the night was spent under the stars of New York City, reminiscing about the good times, the bad times, and everything in between. With one kiss, there hadn't been a cosmic shift in the universe, it wasn't awkward, and there was no regret.

What there had been was acceptance. Each had their own flaws, each brought their own share of baggage to the table. The Nikki Heat era was over, but they weren't over. Crazed fans, bookcover fiascos, title fights and gunshots hadn't ended their working relationship, and if they could survive all of that, they could survive the worst that New York, and the world, could throw at them.

*****

So, we're here at the end! Been reading the reviews for part 2 of chapter 8 – I'd been trying to fake as much medical knowledge as I could from years of faithfully watching House, but I guess some things did fall through the cracks. Thanks to everyone who pointed that stuff out to me, and I will make sure to be more careful next time!

Once again, I want to thank you all for taking the time to read my story, and I hope this doesn't disappoint!

My soundtrack for this chapter was the song "Manhattan From The Sky" by Kate Voegele. If you don't know the song, find it on iTunes or YouTube. I think it's the perfect song for Rick and Kate.


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